NFC West Notebook with a Seattle Seahawks bias

NFC West Notebook

Remember the cruel years of “the NFC Worst?” When the national press mostly ignored the Seahawks and our poor division? And taunted it mercilessly when we did get a bit of airtime on ESPN?

There were some dark days before the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks snuck into the 2011 playoffs as champions of the much maligned, often overlooked NFC West. This let the NFL know things were changing out west. After the nation truly woke up to the resurgent Seahawks during the infamous “You mad, bro?” Patriots loss on October 12, 2012. This was the second time in three seasons the Seahawks sent shockwaves through the league. After having upset the reigning champion New Orleans Saints in the playoffs the year before, creating literal shockwaves (like, literally)—and especially during Round 2 of the Jim Harbaugh-Pete Carroll rivalry series, the NFC Worst blossomed into the NFC Best.

And it wasn’t just the Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers finding their way back to winning form. The Arizona Cardinals reemerged as a legitimate threat on both sides of the ball. The once-St. Louis, now/again-Los Angeles Rams always felt just a few missing pieces away from being able to do more than merely complicate their NFC West rivals’ schedules and hopes for the division title, which they continue to do with some regularity.